Attorney: Homewood pastor would have turned himself in

Richard Shahan was arrested Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn., in connection with the stabbing death of his wife last July.

Metro Nashville Police Department

The Associated Press

Published: Friday, January 3, 2014 at 11:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 12:01 a.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. | The attorney for an Alabama pastor who was arrested at the Nashville International Airport as he was leaving on a mission trip says police were trying to make his client look bad.

Homewood police took out a murder warrant Tuesday on Richard Shahan in the July 23 stabbing death of his wife.

Shahan’s attorney John Lentine said his client would have turned himself in if he had known about the warrant. Instead, Homeland Security agents arrested Shahan at the airport on Wednesday as a fugitive.

Lentine said police took that approach deliberately to make it look like Shahan was trying to flee.

He said his client has always denied responsibility for Karen Shahan’s death.

The spokesman for Homewood police did not return a call seeking comment.

Karen Shahan was found dead in the couple’s home in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood on July 23. Police had gone to the house after co-workers became concerned when she failed to show up for work.

Richard Shahan was serving as the children and families pastor at First Baptist Church of Birmingham. He told authorities he was out of town visiting relatives at the time of his wife’s death. Police held Shahan for questioning over two days in August but released him without charges.

On Thursday, the church posted a statement calling Shahan’s arrest sad and unexpected. The statement said Shahan had planned to begin working with the children’s ministry of Bible Mission International, primarily in Kazakhstan.

Homewood police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Didcoct said detectives wanted to arrest Shahan before he left the country because they were concerned that it would be difficult to extradite him from overseas.

<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. | The attorney for an Alabama pastor who was arrested at the Nashville International Airport as he was leaving on a mission trip says police were trying to make his client look bad.</p><p>Homewood police took out a murder warrant Tuesday on Richard Shahan in the July 23 stabbing death of his wife.</p><p>Shahan's attorney John Lentine said his client would have turned himself in if he had known about the warrant. Instead, Homeland Security agents arrested Shahan at the airport on Wednesday as a fugitive.</p><p>Lentine said police took that approach deliberately to make it look like Shahan was trying to flee.</p><p>He said his client has always denied responsibility for Karen Shahan's death.</p><p>The spokesman for Homewood police did not return a call seeking comment.</p><p>Karen Shahan was found dead in the couple's home in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood on July 23. Police had gone to the house after co-workers became concerned when she failed to show up for work.</p><p>Richard Shahan was serving as the children and families pastor at First Baptist Church of Birmingham. He told authorities he was out of town visiting relatives at the time of his wife's death. Police held Shahan for questioning over two days in August but released him without charges.</p><p>On Thursday, the church posted a statement calling Shahan's arrest sad and unexpected. The statement said Shahan had planned to begin working with the children's ministry of Bible Mission International, primarily in Kazakhstan. </p><p>Homewood police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Didcoct said detectives wanted to arrest Shahan before he left the country because they were concerned that it would be difficult to extradite him from overseas.</p>